Rodger Jerome Larson
An undercover Bureau of Criminal Apprehension agent posing as a young person on a website seeking companionship has led to the arrest of an Isanti County man.

Rodger Jerome Larson, 65, of Bradford Township, was charged June 30 before Judge Amy Brosnahan in Isanti County District Court in Cambridge with the felonies of engaging in electronic communication relating or describing sexual conduct with a child; distributing via electronic communication material that relates or describes sexual conduct to a child; and knowingly violating registration as a predatory offender.
His bail was set at $45,000 without conditions or $15,000 with conditions and next court appearance for Aug. 3.
The alleged incident involved Larson sending nude photos to an undercover BCA agent posing as a child. According to the criminal complaint, Larson admitted sending the nude photos after finding out the boy was 15.

According to court records, Larson was convicted of felony third-degree criminal sexual conduct with a 16- to 17-year-old person of significant relationship in October 2008 in Sherburne County.

According to the
criminal complaint:
On June 29, at 2:30 p.m., Isanti County Sheriff’s Office Investigator Kevin Carlson was notified of a solicitation complaint called in by the BCA.
A BCA agent working in an undercover role as a person under the age of consent in the state of Minnesota posted an ad on Craigslist Casual Encounters seeking any age for fun and looking to meet guys.

Larson responded to the ad and electronically submitted a nude picture to the undercover officer. In addition to submitting two differing nude pictures, five other photos were sent electronically to the undercover agent, some which were sexual in nature.

At 2:55 p.m., Carlson received an email from a BCA agent requesting pick up of Larson for probable cause, because he electronically sent a sexually explicit photo of himself and stated he was at home. Larson believed he was talking to a 15-year-old boy, which was actually a BCA agent.

Carlson responded to Larson’s home to arrest him on probable cause. Upon arrival, Isanti County Investigator Rob Bowker spoke with a neighbor and learned Larson was at work as a custodian at a facility in North Branch. Carlson contacted the North Branch Police Department to pick up Larson, and he was taken into custody.

Carlson met with Larson at the Isanti County Sheriff’s Office and following the Miranda warning, Larson agreed to talk.

Larson admitted to using his cellphone while at his residence in Isanti County to search for a male partner on Craigslist. Larson said he last spoke with the 15-year-old male yesterday through his cellphone and admitted to knowing the boy identified himself as 15 years old. Larson said the boy asked to meet up for mutual sexual activity.

On June 30, Carlson received an email from a BCA agent with additional information about the undercover agent’s work, starting with posting the online ad on June 28, for which the agent received several responses. The agent told the responders that he was 15 years old, which led many to quit responding.
Larson responded and provided a description of himself and what he likes to do along with several photos, some of which were sexual in nature. At the time Larson sent the first nude photos, he had not yet been informed by the agent he was chatting with someone underage.

Larson continued to email back and forth, apologizing for sending the aforementioned photos and providing advice on how to find guys of the boy’s age.

Larson later stated he wished he would have driven to Coon Rapids to meet with the boy and stated he wanted to meet in Brainerd in a few weeks, asking for his phone number. The agent provided Larson with his undercover cellphone number.

Larson sent a “hi” text later that evening to which the agent responded on June 29, saying his phone went dead and asked if Larson had to work all day. Larson responded with: “yes I do. Bud this isn’t going to work and I am sorry I even said anything. I told you at first not to have any kind of sexual relationship with an older guy. I am going to delete your number.” Then Larson essentially ended the conversation.

Larson also admitted his employment information had not been updated pursuant to Larson’s requirements as a predatory offender.